The purpose of movie trailers is to get potential viewers excited for an upcoming film, but occasionally they can become very controversial. Whether it’s giving away important twists, revealing disappointing character designs, or even tapping into major political issues, certain movie trailers have caused quite the stir.

The best trailers can be legendary in their own right, but these ones have all become infamous for the haphazard fallout of their controversies. Across multiple genres and for a plethora of reasons, all these trailers garnered criticism and told a story that extends far beyond the films themselves.

Terminator Genisys (2015)

Movie trailers serve a very specific purpose, and it’s essential that they don’t stray beyond their intended scope and actually detract from the enjoyment of the film. One trailer that utterly failed in this respect was Terminator Genisys, which featured a sequence that spoiled the twist that John Connor had become a machine himself.

While it’s essential to give viewers a glimpse of what’s to come, any vital information, especially plot twists, should be kept under wraps and not included in the trailer. In the end, Terminator Genisys had more issues than just its trailer, as critics ultimately panned the film.

Megalopolis (2024)

Megalopolis had been a pᴀssion project of Francis Ford Coppola’s since the 1970s, so anticipation was understandably high as he finally made the film with $120 million of his own money in 2024. Yet, it seems the trailer didn’t receive much attention, as Lionsgate was forced to pull it after it was revealed that the quotes within it were fabricated.

The trailer for Megalopolis featured snippets of reviews from previous Coppola movies, such as The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, which implied that he had always been unappreciated in his own time. However, upon reviewing the actual reviews, these quotes did not appear, and the trailer was promptly removed from Lionsgate’s YouTube page.

Snow White (2025)

While many viewers take issue with the influx of Disney live-action remakes, Snow White takes the cake in terms of controversy, which kick-started with its star, Rachel Zegler, criticizing the original 1937 movie as “weird” (via BBC.) This pushback reached new levels when the trailer dropped and viewers realized the seven dwarves had been included through the use of CGI.

The digitization of the dwarves opened up a conversation about the casting of marginalized people in Hollywood. Snow White could have been a great opportunity to give genuine dwarf actors prominent movie roles, yet fears around stereotyping and causing offense meant that the roles were reimagined with computer-generated imagery instead.

The Creator (2023)

The Creator was a special effects-heavy sci-fi film directed by Gareth Edwards. However, when the trailer was released, there was something incredibly odd about its content. That’s because an attack seen in the trailer used genuine footage from the 2020 Beirut explosion and tried to pᴀss it off as a futuristic Los Angeles being obliterated by a nuclear explosion.

Following the controversy, Edwards took to social media to explain the situation in a Reddit AMA. Edwards stated that the footage should never have been included in the trailer, citing it as an oversight, as archival footage is often used as a placeholder before the VFX sH๏τs are later incorporated into the film.

The Tigger Movie (2000)

Winnie the Pooh’s eccentric sidekick, Tigger, got his own movie in 2000, but this was not without controversy. That’s because when the trailer for The Tigger Movie dropped, it featured the song “Semi-Charmed Life” by alternative band Third Eye Blind. With lyrics like “Doing crystal meth will lift you up until you break,” this song was anything but family-friendly.

While it’s true that none of the risqué lyrics made it into the actual trailer, viewers were shocked Disney would allow The Tigger Movie to be in any way ᴀssociated with such an adult-oriented song. A spokesperson for Disney said (via Hollywood) that they were not aware of the song’s mature content at the time.

Yesterday (2019)

Trailers are often criticized for including all the best bits of the movie to the point that viewers feel like they don’t even need to see it anymore. However, Yesterday had the opposite problem, and this even led to a lawsuit after viewers sued Universal because actress Ana de Armas was in the trailer but had been cut from the film.

Yesterday imagined a world where just one man remembers the music of the Beatles and uses this as a springboard to his own career as a successful musician. De Armas was set to play a love interest in the film, but after her role was eliminated, two fans sued, as they claimed they were duped into paying $3.99 rental fees.

Barbie (2023)

While Barbie was one of the most successful movies of 2023 and was given a huge promotional boost through its ᴀssociation with the Barbenheimer phenomenon, there was one country where it didn’t go quite so smoothly. That’s because Barbie was actually banned in Vietnam due to its inclusion of the South China Sea nine-dash line map.

This controversial map reinforces China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea and is a disputed marking as Vietnam claims it violates the country’s sovereignty. The Philippines also raised issues with the map and requested that it be blurred.

The Mechanic (2011)

Jason Statham has starred in plenty of fast-paced action movies, yet one 2011 release caused a surprising stir on British television. That’s because after the trailer for The Mechanic aired during an advertisement break for the teen musical series Glee, it led to several complaints, and the trailer was actually banned from being broadcast on British TV.

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority decided to ban the trailer for The Mechanic (via BBC) after noting that, even though it was aired post-watershed, many viewers under the age of 16 would likely have tuned in to Glee. With a stream of violent imagery, The Mechanic was deemed too intense for TV.

Sonic The Hedgehog (2020)

Sonic the Hedgehog is a rare example of a video game adaptation getting things right, but this was almost a very different story. That’s because when the first Sonic trailer dropped, fans were shocked at the uncanny valley design of the тιтular hedgehog, who had been a strange design that the creators said was meant to make him look more human.

The pushback to the trailer was so huge that director Jeff Fowler announced that Sonic would be redesigned to align better with his more cartoonish video game representation. Thankfully, this change was made, as Sonic’s classic design is truly iconic, and the movie just wouldn’t have worked if they stuck with their original plans.

Wuthering Heights (2026)

Emerald Fennell’s upcoming adaptation of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel Wuthering Heights is sure to be one of the most divisive movies of 2026, as even its trailer has caused quite a stir. With Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi cast as Catherine and Heathcliff, respectively, viewers quickly pointed out that Robbie was too old and Elordi was too white to play the characters.

Everything from the use of modern music like Charli XCX to its overly Sєxual tone drew criticism, as those who hold the book near and dear to their hearts fear this adaptation is missing the point. Yet, it’s impossible to judge a film by its trailer alone, and time will tell if Wuthering Heights can overcome these issues.